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National  Committee 


FOR 


Constructive 

Immigration 

Legislation 


PRINCIPLES 

PROGRAM 


105  East  22d  Street 
New  York  City 


Outlines  of  the  Proposals  of  the 
National  Committee  for  Con- 
structive Immigration 
Legislation 

The  urgent  need  of  revising  our  immi- 
gration laws  is  widely  recognized.  Our 
present  laws  do  not  meet  the  situation — 
they  are  obsolete.  After  a brief  period  of 
emigration,  many  anticipate  a fresh  flood 
of  immigration  whose  proportions  no  one 
can  forecast.  Labor  unrest  is  increasing. 
Organized  labor  is  demanding  complete 
stoppage  of  immigration. 

Pre-war  immigration  produced  many 
serious  problems.  We  admitted  immi- 
grants regardless  of  our  economic  condi- 
tions and  needs  and  of  their  capacity  to 
live  wholesomely  here.  We  had  among 
us  vast  masses  of  aliens  of  many 
nationalities  and  we  had  no  effective  pro- 
vision for  fitting  them  for  life  here  as  a 
part  of  our  democracy.  For  a generation 
we  have  been  enacting  and  enforcing 
laws  violating  treaties  with  China.  These 
laws  have  been  producing  international 
irritation.  For  lack  of  suitable  laws  the 
United  States  is  not  able  to  fulfil  its 
treaty  obligations  for  the  protection  of 
aliens  of  any  land. 

America  now  needs  a sound  scientific 
policy  for  dealing  comprehensively  and 
constructively  with  all  these  problems. 


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Principle* 

Legislation  dealing  with  these  matters 
should  be  controlled  by  the  following 
principles : 

1.  The  United  States  should  so  regu- 
late, and,  where  necessary,  restrict 
immigration  as  to  provide  that  only 
so  many  immigrants  of  each  race  or 
people  may  be  admitted  as  can  be 
wholesomely  Americanized. 

2.  The  number  of  those  individuals 
of  each  race  or  people  already  in 
the  United  States  who  have  become 
Americanized  affords  the  best  basis 
of  the  measure  for  the  further  im- 
migration of  that  people. 

3.  American  standards  of  living  should 
be  protected  from  the  dangerous 
economic  competition  of  immi- 
grants, whether  from  Europe  or 
from  Asia. 

4.  No  larger  amount  of  total  immigra- 
tion should  be  admitted  than  we 
can  steadily  employ. 

5.  Such  provision  for  the  care  of 
aliens  residing  among  us  should  be 
made  as  will  promote  their  rapid 
and  genuine  Americanization  and 
thus  maintain  intact  our  democratic 
institutions  and  national  unity. 

6.  The  Federal  Government  should  be 
empowered  by  Congress  to  protect 
the  lives  and  property  of  aliens. 

7.  All  legislation  dealing  with  immi- 


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gration  and  with  resident  aliens 
should  be  based  on  justice  and  good 
will  as  well  as  on  economic  and 
political  considerations. 

Program  for  Legislation 

On  the  basis  of  these  principles,  the 
National  Committee  for  Constructive  Im- 
migration Legislation  has  formulated  a 
number  of  specific  proposals  for  legis- 
lation. 

1.  Regulation  of  the  Rate  of  Immigra- 

tion 

The  maximum  permissible  annual  im- 
migration from  any  people  should  be 
a definite  per  cent  (say  between  three 
and  ten)  of  those  from  that  people  who 
have  already  become  citizens. 

2.  Registration  of  Aliens 

All  resident  aliens  should  be  required 
to  register  and  to  keep  registered  until 
they  become  American  citizens  or  leave 
the  country. 

3.  Distribution  of  Aliens 

Effective  plans  should  be  formed  for 
the  wholesome  distribution  of  aliens. 

4.  The  Education  of  Aliens  for  Citizen- 

ship 

The  Federal  Government  should  under- 
take more  effective  methods  for  the 
training  of  aliens  for  citizenship  than 
the  present  laws  provide.  Adequate 
funds,  moreover,  should  be  provided 
for  this  important  task. 


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5.  Higher  Standards  for  Naturalization 
The  naturalization  laws  should  be 
amended  so  as  to  include  among  other 
requirements  at  least  the  ability  to  read 
an  ordinary  American  newspaper  and 
a knowledge  of  the  history  of  America 
and  the  practices  and  ideals  of  our 
democracy. 

6.  Equal  Treatment  for  all  Peoples 
Linder  the  foregoing  provisions  and 
rigid  limitations  as  to  numbers  and 
qualifications,  the  right  to  acquire  citi- 
zenship should  be  given  to  all  who 
qualify,  regardless  of  race. 

7.  Adequate  Protection  for  Aliens 
Congress  should  enact  a law  enabling 
the  Federal  Government  to  exercise 
immediate  jurisdiction  in  any  case  in- 
volving the  protection  of  and  justice  to 
aliens.  The  treaties  place  this  respon- 
sibility on  the  Federal  Government  but 
no  laws  as  yet  give  it  this  power. 

8.  An  Immigration  Commission 

For  the  administration  of  the  above 
measures  the  National  Committee  pro- 
poses that  Congress  shall  establish  an 
Immigration  Commission  to  consist  of 
the  Secretary  of  Labor,  the  Secretary 
of  Commerce,  and  a third  man  to  be 
appointed  by  the  President,  with  spe- 
cific instructions  and  powers  for  deal- 
ing with  immigration  matters. 

The  foregoing  statement,  because  of  its 

necessary  brevity,  leaves  wholly  unde- 


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fined  many  matters  of  detail,  the  right 
settlement  of  which,  however,  is  essential 
to  the  success  of  the  proposed  policy. 
These  have  been  formulated  and  ex- 
plained in  two  pamphlets  dealing  with 
“Our  Immigration  and  Naturalization 
Laws”  and  “Immigration  Statistics  and 
Charts.” 

THE  NATIONAL  COMMITTEE 

In  the  autumn  of  1917  a small  group  of 
students  of  immigration  problems  issued 
a leaflet  entitled  “Tentative  Proposals 
for  Constructive  Immigration  Legisla- 
tion.” This  was  sent  to  selected  individ- 
uals who  were  invited  to  become  mem- 
bers of  a National  Committee  to  promote 
this  program  in  case  “one  thousand  lead- 
ing citizens  in  all  parts  of  the  United 
States  can  be  found  who  will  endorse  and 
support  these  proposals.” 

By  the  close  of  1918  more  than  one 
thousand  had  expressed  this  approval  and 
endorsement.  In  January,  1^9,  a two- 
day  conference  of  experts  in  immigration 
and  legislative  matters  Avas  held  in  Wash- 
ington to  frame  a draft  of  a bill  embody- 
ing the  “Tentative  Proposals.”  The  re- 
sult was  published  in  March  in  a pam- 
phlet entitled  “Our  Immigration  and 
Naturalization  Laws.” 

In  June,  1919,  the  Committee  on  Immi- 
gration and  Naturalization  of  the  House 
of  Representatives  gave  six  hearings  to 
the  National  Committee.  The  House 
Committee  was  invited  to  adopt  the  prin- 


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ciples  here  advocated  and  to  prepare  a 
bill  of  its  own  along  these  lines.  The 
National  Committee  would  prefer  not  to 
present  a bill  distinctively  its  own. 

Equality  of  Race  Treatment 

The  National  Committee  profoundly 
realizes  the  seriousness  of  the  problems 
raised  by  race  differences  in  matters  of 
immigration  and  naturalization.  It  recog- 
nizes that  the  control  of  immigration  is 
a fundamental  right  of  every  nation ; and 
it  holds  that  races  markedly  different 
from  those  in  effective  possession  of  any 
land  ought  not  to  emigrate  to  that  land 
in  numbers  so  large  as  to  cause  economic, 
political,  or  social  disorders.  For  the 
maintenance  of  good  neighborliness  be- 
tween peoples  racially  different  it  should 
be  mutually  recognized  that  emigration 
of  large  numbers  of  either  race  to  the 
land  of  the  other,  is  fraught  with  danger. 
Such  immigration  should,  therefore,  be 
regulated  and  rigidly  restricted,  if  pos- 
sible, by  mutual  consent. 

For  the  purposes,  however,  of  mutual 
acquaintance  and  good  will,  for  the  re- 
moval of  race  prejudice  and  for  the  mu- 
tual exchange  of  each  other’s  industrial 
and  cultural  achievements,  it  is  impor- 
tant that  provision  should  be  made  for  a 
limited  reciprocal  immigration,  especially 
of  the  higher  and  better  educated  classes. 
In  order  that  such  limited  immigration 
may  secure  its  best  results,  the  Commit- 
tee holds  that  "most  favored  nation  treat- 


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ment”  should  be  accorded  to  all  such 
admitted  aliens  in  matters  of  economic 
opportunity  and  political  rights.  Differ- 
ential and  discriminatory  treatment  of 
lawfully  resident  aliens  based  exclusively 
on  difference  of  race  cannot  fail  to  irritate 
and  humiliate  not  only  the  individuals  im- 
mediately affected  but  also  the  people  in 
their  home  land. 

For  the  reasons  thus  briefly  stated  the 
National  Committee  advocates  a policy 
on  the  one  hand  of  regulation  of  immigra- 
tion and  on  the  other  hand  of  full  eco- 
nomic and  political  opportunity  to  those 
actually  admitted. 

1.  The  regulation  of  immigration 
should  be  provided  for  by  a method 
which,  while  applicable  equally  to  all  peo- 
ples and  therefore  free  from  invidious 
discrimination  in  principle,  shall  also 
recognize  and  provide  for  those  impor- 
tant differences  in  the  adaptability  to 
-Americanization  of  diverse  races  and  peo- 
ples, which  are  widely  acknowledged. 

(a)  As  large  an  opportunity  for  im- 
migration should  be  given  to  peoples 
closely  related  to  us  ethnologically  and 
therefore  easily  Americanized  and  in- 
corporated into  our  body  politic,  as  eco- 
nomic conditions  may  justify,  and  no 
more. 

fb)  Only  so  much  of  an  opportunitv 
for  immigration  should  be  given  to 
peoples  markedly  unlike  us  ethnologic- 
ally  and  therefore  difficult  of  American- 


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ization  and  incorporation  into  our  body 
politic,  as  their  proven  capacity  for  the 
same  may  make  feasible,  and  no  more. 

2.  Under  the  foregoing  provisions  and 
limitations  full  economic  and  political  op- 
portunity should  be  granted  to  every  per- 
manently resident  alien  who  qualifies  for 
such  privileges,  regardless  of  his  race. 

* * * 

The  National  Committee  believes  that 
its  concrete  proposals-  for  Constructive 
Immigration  Legislation  embody  the 
above  principles  and  will  secure  the  de- 
sired results.  The  plan  is  scientific  and 
flexible,  capable  of  continuous  adjust- 
ment to  our  changing  economic  condi- 
tions. It  will  in  practice  place  no  restric- 
tion on  immigration  from  Northwest 
Europe,  it  will  restrain  immigration  from 
South,  Central  and  Eastern  Europe,  vary- 
ing according  to  the  actual  percentage 
rate  adopted,  and  it  will  permit  only  a 
small,  practically  neglible  immigration 
from  China  and  Japan,  both  now  and  in 
the  future. 

In  a word,  the  proposed  law  will  admit 
as  immigrants  only  as  many  from  each 
people  as  we  can  hope  to  Americanize 
and  steadily  employ.  It  will  help  protect 
American  labor,  prevent  sudden  influx 
from  any  new  people,  stabilize  business, 
raise  standards  of  citizenship  and  promote 
intelligent  patriotism. 

It  will  at  the  same  time  harmonize 
America’s  treatment  of  Chinese  with  our 
treaty  obligations,  which  obligations  are 


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violated  by  some  of  our  present  laws, 
according  to  the  judgment  of  the  Supreme 
Court  of  the  United  States.  The  time 
has  surely  come  to  repeal  our  treaty- 
breaking laws  and  to  apply  the  Golden 
Rule  and  the  plain  principles  of  interna- 
tional honor  to  our  relations  with  the 
Chinese  and  with  every  people. 

Invitation  to  Membership 

Every  American  citizen  who  believes 
in  the  foregoing  proposals  for  the  scien- 
tific regulation  of  immigration  and  desires 
to  co-operate  in  its  enactment  into  law  is 
invited  to  become  a member  of  this  Move- 
ment. There  are  no  prescribed  member- 
ship dues.  Each  member  is  asked  to 
spread  the  knowledge  of  this  plan  and  to 
aid  in  securing  new  members.  The  ex- 
tent and  energy  of  our  campaign  of  edu- 
cation depends,  of  course,  on  the  interest 
and  contributions  of  those  who  believe 
in  it. 

Correspondence  is  invited.  Pamphlets 
presenting  our  proposals  in  full  detail  will 
be  sent  on  application. 

Executive  Committee  Pro  Tern 

Hamilton  Holt,  .Acting  Chairman 
Sidney  L.  Gulick,  Secretary 
John  Collier,  .Associate  Secretary 
-Albert  G.  Lawson,  .Acting  T reasurer 
J.  B.  Andrews 
Mrs.  Harry  M.  Bremer 
Stephen  P.  Dugca.n 
Charles  Stelzle 


